The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up adapts the Taiwanese short story into a free-roaming VR experience.

Based on the story of the same name by Taiwanese author Wu Ming-yi, The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up focuses on the story of Guan, who finds his wife's unfinished novel after her sudden death. Grief-stricken and full of regret, Guan sets off on a surreal journey to complete what his wife had started, investigating the endangered clouded leopard and Rukai tribe.

Recently shown during Venice Immersive 2025, this roomscale experience soon became my personal highlight of this year's selection. It's a captivating story focused on love and loss mixed with indigenous mythology, taking a highly distinctive approach to VR filmmaking beyond the 180° and 360° videos we've often seen in the past.

You don't directly influence the actions across this 62-minute experience beyond continuing the story by walking toward certain locations when prompted. What's especially interesting here is how you can walk across these environments while these scenes unfold before your eyes. For example, one moment sees a character's grandmother talking to him about the clouded leopard's legend.

However, if you look behind, you can walk behind the desk of Guan's wife as she types out this account. You have that agency to explore these environments and make your own conclusions about the ongoing narrative. You aren't locked into place as the story unfolds; it's rather freeing. I do wish they'd actually given his wife a name, though. Considering she's such a pivotal character, the fact this never comes up feels like such a strange omission.

A home release seems unlikely given how much space this requires, unless they add artificial analog stick-based locomotion, but it's a strong example of how roomscale experiences can deliver a surprisingly effective narrative. I don't think I need to try The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up again, though I'd highly recommend it if you ever get the chance.